Ceiling fan blade attachment assembly

ABSTRACT

A fan comprising one or more releasable fan blades secured to a hub portion. A spring biased pin may be mounted in a motor housing to automatically secure a fan blade when it is connected with a motor body.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The field of the present invention relates to fans, and inparticular ceiling fans.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] A typical ceiling fan will include a down rod assembly suspendedfrom the ceiling with a motor shaft is connected to a lower portion ofthe down rod assembly. A motor body rotates about the motor shaft. Amotor housing that surrounds the motor may be secured to either themotor shaft or the down rod assembly, which is stationary. Blademounting arms are connected to the motor body and extend out of anopening of the motor housing or below the motor housing. A hub isattached to the motor shaft below the fan blades and fan blade arms.U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,250,885 and 6,354,801, issued to Gajewski and commonlyassigned with this invention, are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

[0003] The motor housing in a typical ceiling encloses the motor. Andtypical ceiling fans require three or more screws connecting each fanblade to a blade arm. Thus, assembly of the ceiling fan is cumbersomeand time consuming. The greater the number of blades the longer theassembly time. And the screws may become loosened from vibration ofrunning the fan. Additionally, there are a variety of reasons forremoving fan blades from a fan hub portion, including bringing the hubportion in for repair or replacing broken fan blades or for cleaning.Thus, there has been a need for easy installation and replacement of fanblades. Prior art attempts have not proved to be entirely successful.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0004] It is an object of the invention to provide a fan that is easy toassembly. Another object is to provide a fan that is easy todisassemble.

[0005] An object of the invention is to provide a fan that, in at leastone embodiment comprises a housing, wherein at least a portion of thehousing rotates with the fan blades. A further objective is to providefor inserting blades into the housing. An alternate objective is toprovide a housing that does not rotate with the blades. A furtherobjective is to rotate the blades beneath a motor housing.

[0006] An object of the invention is to provide means for attaching theblades to one or both of the motor housing or the motor. A furtherobjective is to position, at least a portion of, the attachment means inthe housing. Yet a further objective is to attach the blades, at leastin part, with a releasable engagement.

[0007] Another object of the invention is to position the releasableengagement in the housing while providing for easy assembly of the fan.A further objective is to also provide for easy disassembly of the fanalthough the releasable engagement is positioned in the housing.

[0008] Yet another object of the invention is to provide a fan kitcomprising easy assembly components. A further objective is to providereplacement components that may be easily assembled with originalcomponents or other replacement components.

[0009] Yet a further objective is to provide a fan that may becustomized by a user. The user may, for example, want to update selectedcomponents of the fan to match a new room décor without having topurchase an entirely new fan.

[0010] Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent tothose of skill in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A ceiling fan comprising a motor having a motor shaft connectedto a down rod assembly and a motor body which rotates about the motorshaft. The phrases Motor body and motor shaft are intended to be broadlyconstrued, unless indicated otherwise, such that the motor shaft is astationary component of the motor and the motor body is a component ofthe motor that rotates relative the motor shaft. In one embodiment, ablade mounting arm comprising a sleeve is connected to the motor body. Afan blade is positioned in the sleeve. And a releasable engagementsecures the blade in the sleeve.

[0012] The fan may comprise a motor housing rotatable with and connectedto the motor body, wherein the motor housing comprises a slot. The fanblade is inserted into the slot. The releasable engagement is preferablypositioned in the motor housing to automatically engage the fan bladewhen the fan blade is properly positioned to the slot. The fan blade isthus secured to a hub portion of the fan. The hub portion should beconstrued broadly to mean the general central portion of the fan. Andthe phrase hub portion is not intended to require that it include thestationary hub.

[0013] Accordingly, one method of installing the fan blade comprisesaligning the fan blade with the sleeve connected to the motor body andinserting the fan blade into the sleeve. The fan blade is positionedinto the sleeve to allow a releasable engagement to automatically securethe fan blade in the sleeve when the fan blade is properly positioned inthe sleeve.

[0014] Removal of the fan blade is conveniently achieved with use of thereleasable engagement. A method of removing a fan blade compriseslocating the releasable engagement that is securing the fan blade inposition and applying a force to release the releasable engagement. Thenthe fan blade is withdrawn from the hub portion of the fan.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, a catch on the releasable engagementis pulled by inserting a tool into the housing. In some embodiments thetool is inserted into the motor housing to catch a catch of thereleasable engagement and pull it, thus releasing the releasableengagement.

[0016] For some applications, the invention encompasses a kit where fancomponents are, adapted to be connected via, for example, releasableengagement. For example, a kit comprising fan blades comprising areleasable engagement where the fan blades are adapted to interact witha hub portion of a ceiling fan. Alternatively, a central hub portioncomprising a releasable engagement is adapted to interact with one ormore fan blades adapted to interact with the releasable engagement.

[0017] Other aspects of the present invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art upon studying this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In the drawings:

[0019]FIG. 1 depicts a plain view of a ceiling fan with a hub portion,centrally located, and with fan blades.

[0020]FIG. 2 depicts an elevation view of a ceiling fan showing in amotor housing for receiving a fan blade.

[0021]FIG. 3 depicts a bottom view of a ceiling fan with a fan bladeremoved from the hub portion and aligned with a slot in the motorhousing.

[0022]FIG. 4 depicts an elevation view of the fan shown in FIG. 2, butviewed from the opposite direction.

[0023]FIG. 5 depicts a view showing part of the interior of the hubportion, to expose a motor body, with the fan blade being inserted intothe hub portion.

[0024]FIG. 6 depicts an elevation view of a ceiling fan showing part ofthe interior and a tool positioned over a releasable engagement andbeing inserted into the motor housing.

[0025]FIG. 7 depicts a view showing part of the interior of the hubportion with the tool engaging the releasable engagement and applying aforce to a pin of the releasable engagement. Release of the pin allowsthe fan blade to be withdrawn.

[0026]FIG. 8 depicts a partial perspective view of a fan blade alignedwith a sleeve and an exploded view of a releasable engagement mounted tothe sleeve.

[0027]FIG. 9 depicts a section view of the fan components shown in FIG.8, but with the fan blade being inserted into the sleeve.

[0028]FIG. 10 depicts the fan components shown in FIG. 9, but with thefan blade fully inserted into the sleeve and with a pin being releasedby exerting a force on a tool to pull the pin.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT

[0029] The invention is further described with reference to theillustrated embodiment. The invention is not, however, limited to thedescribed illustrated embodiment. FIGS. 1-4 depict a ceiling fan 10.FIGS. 5-7 are elevation views with part of the exterior removed to showpart of the interior. FIGS. 8-10 show enlarged views of one embodimentof a releasable engagement. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the ceiling fan 10,i.e., looking down from above. FIG. 2 depicts a side elevation view ofthe ceiling fan 10. FIG. 3 depicts a bottom view of the fan 10. FIG. 4is an elevation view of the ceiling fan 10 looking in a directionopposite that of FIG. 2.

[0030] The ceiling fan 10 is connected to a down rod assembly 12 that issuspended from the ceiling. The ceiling fan 10 comprises a motor 14having a motor shaft 16 in a motor body 18. The motor body 18 rotatesrelative to the motor shaft 16. A housing 20 is stationary and istypically connected to the motor shaft 16 or the down rod 12. A motorhousing 22 is connected to the motor body 18 and rotates with the motorbody 18. Blade mounting arms 24 are connected to the motor body 18 androtate with it. The blade mounting arms 24 may be positioned in themotor housing 22. An alternative position for the blade mounting arms 24may be below the motor housing 22. Fan blades 26, 28 and 30 arepreferably connected to the blade mounting arms 24 to rotate with themotor body 18. The fan blades may additionally or alternatively besecured to the motor housing 22 that rotates with the motor body 18.

[0031] For simplicity, connection of the fan blades will be describedfor one blade only. FIG. 2 depicts a slot 32 in the motor housing 22. InFIG. 3, fan blade 26 is shown separated from the motor housing 22 butaligned with the slot 32. A hub 34, which is typically attached to themotor shaft 16, is most visible in FIG. 3. The fan blade 26 may beconnected directly to the motor body 18, connected via the blademounting arm 24 or connected with a sleeve 36. Sleeve 36 may forexample, be connected to the blade mounting arm 24. The blade 26 mayalso, or alternatively be secured to the motor housing 22, which thenindirectly connects the blade 26 to the motor body 18.

[0032] For some applications, the fan blade 26 may be connected to thesleeve 36 with a releasable engagement 40. FIG. 8 shows a partialperspective view of the fan blade 26 aligned with the sleeve 36. Anexploded view of an embodiment of the releasable engagement 40 is alsoshown.

[0033] In the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 8-10, the releasableengagement 40 is mounted on the sleeve 36. A pin 42 interacts with thefan blade 26 to secure the fan blade 26 in the sleeve 36. Pin 42 ismounted to the sleeve 36 with pin guide 44 wherein the pin biaseddownward with spring 46. It will be understood by those of skill in theart that use of directional terms such as up, down, above and below arerelative terms used for convenience and illustration and are notintended to limit the scope of the teachings, except where explicitlyindicated. The pin 42 comprises an internally threaded shaft 48 passingthrough the coil spring 46 and protruding through the pin guide 44. Acatch 50 is secured to the pin shaft 48 with screw 52. The catch 50illustrated an L bracket comprising a side wall 54 defining an opening56; other designs will be apparent to those of skill in the art forcatching the catch 50 with a tool 58.

[0034] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9-10, the releasable engagement40 is biased downward; a force 60 is being applied to the releasableengagement 40 with the tool 58 to release the releasable engagement 40.In the specific embodiment depicted, the user catches the catch 50 withthe tool 58 and pulls on the pin 42 to disengage the releasableengagement 40 from the fan blade 26.

[0035] In alternative embodiments the releasable engagement is releasedby applying a pushing force. It will also be apparent to those skilledin the art that the releasable engagement 40 need not be mounted on thesleeve 36 and may alternatively be mounted on, or internal to, the fanblade 26. In one such embodiment, the tool 58 would be used to apply apushing force, rather than a pulling force, to release the releasableengagement 40. The force 60 applied may be at any convenient anglerelative to the fan blade 26 that is appropriate for the particularembodiment of the releasable engagement 40 utilized.

[0036] The releasable engagement 40 is preferably biased toautomatically engage an aperture 62 of the fan blade 26 when the fanblade 26 is properly positioned. In the particular embodimentillustrated in FIG. 10, the pin 42 interacts with the aperture 62 of thefan blade 26, thereby securing the fan blade 26 in the sleeve 36. Insome embodiments, the aperture 62 comprises at least one flat edge 64 tofurther reduce wobbling, e.g., side-to-side motion of the fan blade 26.

[0037] In some applications the housing 20 comprises one or more accessvents 68 to allow the tool 58 to contact the releasable engagement 40.With reference to FIG. 1, six access vents 68 are illustrated. FIGS. 5-7show a side view of one access vent 68. In the illustrated embodiment,the access vent 68 is radially aligned with the catch 50. The fan blade26 is rotated to angularly align the catch 50 with the access vent 68.The access vent 68 also allows heat to escape from the interior of thefan 10. The illustrated embodiment depicts, in FIG. 1, heat vents 69 tofurther allow heat to escape.

[0038] To facilitate engagement between the fan blade 26 and the motorbody 18, the releasable engagement 40 comprises a slide 70 thatautomatically opens the releasable engagement 40 as the fan blade 26 isbeing inserted into the sleeve 36. In the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 9and 10 the slide 70 is angled to slide over the fan blade 26 while thefan blade 26 is being inserted into the sleeve 36. As the fan blade 26interacts with the slide 70, the pin 42 is lifted to allow the blade 26to pass beneath the pin 42. When the fan blade 26 is properly positionedin the sleeve 36, the spring 46 will force the pin 42 to engage theaperture 62 of the fan blade 26, thereby securing the fan blade 26 inthe sleeve 36. Alternatively, or in combination with the slide 70 of thereleasable engagement 40, the fan blade 26 comprises a notch 84 thataligns with pin 42 when the fan blade 26 is properly aligned. A fanslide 86 positioned in the notch 84 is angled to facilitate lifting pin42 so the fan blade 26 slides under the pin 42 as the fan blade 26 ispushed into position.

[0039] To facilitate positioning the fan blade 26 in the sleeve 36, thesleeve 36 has an inner wall 72 to indicate when the fan blade 26 isinserted far enough into the sleeve 36. It will be understood that theinner wall 72 need not enclose the fan blade 26, i.e., be a wall acrossan entire side of the sleeve 36. Preferably the fan blade 26 comprisesedges 74 and 76 for interacting with edges 78 and 80 of the sleeve 36 tofurther facilitate proper positioning of the fan blade 26 in the sleeve36.

[0040] A sleeve 36 need not surround the fan blade 26, but preferablythe sleeve 36 has members, e.g., sides, webs, slates, sufficient tofacilitate positioning of the fan blade 26 and reduce wobble of the fanblade 26 when the motor body 18 is rotated. Furthermore, for someembodiments a sleeve is not required at all. For example, the releasableengagement 40 may be positioned in the motor housing 22 to automaticallyengage the fan blade 26 when the fan blade 26 is properly positioned inthe slot 32. The edges 74 and 76 may then interact with the slot 32 andthe motor housing 22 to reduce wobble position the fan blade 26.Collectively, or independently, the sleeve 36 and the slot 32 act as anopening for receiving the fan blade 26 and supporting and stabilizingthe fan blade 26.

[0041] Typically, the fan 10 will be sold as a kit wherein thereleasable engagement 40 substantially eases assembly by the user. Dueto the simplicity of removing and installing fan blades for the use ofthe releasable engagement, it is envisioned that fan blades 26-30 andany hub portion 82 may be sold separately. The hub portion 82 may, forexample, comprise one or more of the following components: fan 14, motorshaft 16, motor body 18, blade mounting arm 24, sleeve 36, housing 20,motor housing 22 and releasable engagement 40. As discussed above, thefan blade 26 may comprise the releasable engagement 40 for interactingwith the hub portion 82, thereby securing the fan blades 26 to the hubportion 82. A user may thereby customize the fan 10, or later change thefan 10 decor, to match decor of a room.

[0042] While the present invention has been described with reference toone or more particular embodiments, those skilled in the art willrecognize that many changes may be made thereto without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention. Each of theseembodiments, and obvious variations thereof, is contemplated as fallingwithin the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, which is set forthin the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A ceiling fan suspended by a down rod assembly,the fan comprising: a motor having a motor shaft connected to the downrod assembly and a motor body which rotates relative to the motor shaft;a blade mounting arm connected to the motor body and comprising asleeve; a fan blade positioned in the sleeve; and a releasableengagement securing the blade in the sleeve.
 2. The fan of claim 1,wherein the sleeve comprises an inner wall facilitating properpositioning of the blade in the sleeve.
 3. The fan of claim 1, whereinthe releasable engagement is mounted on the sleeve and the fan bladecomprises an aperture interacting with the releasable engagement whenthe fan blade is properly positioned.
 4. The fan of claim 1, wherein thefan blade comprises an aperture and the releasable engagement is biasedto automatically engage the aperture of the fan blade when the fan bladeis properly positioned, whereby the fan blade is secured in the sleeve.5. The fan of claim 1, wherein the releasable engagement comprises a pinsecuring the fan blade in the sleeve.
 6. The fan of claim 5, wherein thepin is biased to automatically secure the fan blade in the sleeve whenthe fan blade is properly positioned in the sleeve.
 7. The fan of claim6, wherein the pin comprises a slide sliding over the blade while theblade is being inserted in the sleeve, wherein the slide is angled tolift the pin to allow the blade to pass beneath the pin.
 8. The fan ofclaim 6, wherein the pin comprises a catch for interacting with a toolfor releasing the releasable engagement by applying a force to the tool.9. The fan of claim 8, wherein the releasable engagement is releasedwhen the pin is pulled away from the fan blade.
 10. The fan of claim 1,wherein the releasable engagement comprises a slide for automaticallyopening the releasable engagement while the fan blade is being insertedinto the sleeve.
 11. The fan of claim 1, comprising a housing coveringthe motor shaft, wherein the housing has an access vent through which atool may contact the releasable engagement.
 12. A fan comprising: amotor having a motor shaft and a motor body that rotates relative to themotor shaft; a motor housing rotatable with and connected to the motorbody, wherein the motor housing has a slot; a fan blade inserted intothe slot; and a releasable engagement positioned in the motor housing toautomatically engage the fan blade when the fan blade is properlypositioned in the slot, whereby the fan blade is secured.
 13. The fan ofclaim 12, wherein the releasable engagement comprises a pin that isspring biased to engage the fan blade and the fan blade comprises anaperture for receiving the pin, whereby the fan blade is secured in theslot when pin engages the aperture.
 14. The fan of claim 13, wherein thepin comprises a slide for sliding over the fan blade while the fan bladeis being positioned in the slot and the slide is angled to lift the pinout of the way of the fan blade.
 15. The fan of claim 12, wherein thereleasable engagement comprises a catch for interacting with a tool forreleasing the releasable engagement by applying a force to the tool. 16.The fan of claim 12, comprising a stationary housing connected to themotor shaft.
 17. The fan of claim 16, wherein the stationary housingcomprises an access vent providing access to the releasable engagement.18. The fan of claim 17, wherein the stationary housing comprises heatvents to release heat.
 19. A method of installing a fan blade, themethod comprising: aligning the fan blade with a sleeve connected to amotor body; inserting the fan blade into the sleeve; and positioning thefan blade in the sleeve to allow a releasable engagement toautomatically secure the fan blade in the sleeve when the fan blade isproperly positioned in the sleeve.
 20. The method of claim 19,comprising aligning the fan blade with a slot in a motor housing.
 21. Amethod of removing a fan blade connected to a motor body with areleasable engagement, the method comprising: locating the releasableengagement securing the fan blade in position; applying a force torelease the releasable engagement; and withdrawing the fan blade from asleeve.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein applying the force torelease the releasable engagement comprises catching a catch of thereleasable engagement with a tool and pulling the tool.
 23. The methodof claim 21, comprising aligning an access vent with the releasableengagement by rotating the fan blade.
 24. A fan kit comprising: a motorbody; three fan arms adapted to be connected to the motor body, each fanarm comprising fan blade engaging structure comprising a sleeve; andthree fan blades adapted to be secured to the three fan arms, each fanblade comprising fan arm engaging structure, wherein the fan bladeengaging structure and the fan arm engaging structure are adapted toautomatically engage when the fan blade is properly positioned.
 25. Thekit of claim 24, comprising: a tool for catching one of the fan armengaging structure or the fan blade engaging structure, whereby applyinga force to the tool can disengage the caught structure and release thefan blade.
 26. A ceiling fan comprising: a motor having a motor shaftand a motor body that rotates relative to the motor shaft; a pluralityof fan blades releasably secured to the motor body; and a plurality ofmeans for releasably engaging the fan blades with the motor body. 27.The ceiling fan of claim 26, comprising a plurality of fan armsconnecting the fan blades to the motor body, wherein the fan bladesreleasably engage the fan arms and the means for releasably engaging thefan blades with the fan arms comprises a biased pin.
 28. The ceiling fanof claim 26, comprising means defining openings for receiving the fanblades.
 29. A ceiling fan comprising: a plurality of fan blades; meansfor rotating the fan blades; and means for automatically securing thefan blades to the means for rotating the fan blades when the fan bladesare properly positioned.
 30. The ceiling fan of claim 29, wherein themeans for automatically securing the fan blades comprises means forautomatically opening the means for automatically securing the fanblades while the fan blades are being positioned.
 31. A ceiling fancomponent for use in a ceiling fan comprising a hub portion, thecomponent comprising: a fan blade adapted to connect to the hub portion;and means associated with the fan blade for interacting with the hubportion, wherein the fan blade is automatically secured to the hubportion when the fan blade is properly positioned.
 32. The fan componentof claim 31, wherein the means for interacting with the hub portioncomprises an aperture in the fan blade adapted to interact with the hubportion.
 33. A ceiling fan component for use in a ceiling fan comprisinga fan blade, the component comprising: a hub portion adapted to connectwith the fan blade; and means associated with the hub portion forinteracting with the fan blades, wherein the fan blade is automaticallysecured to the hub portion when the fan blade is properly positioned.34. The fan component of claim 33, wherein the means associated with thehub portion for interacting with the fan blade comprises a releasableengagement adapted to interact with the fan blade.
 35. The fan componentof claim 34, wherein the releasable engagement comprises a spring biasedpin, wherein the pin is adapted to interact with the fan blade.
 36. Thefan component of claim 33, wherein the hub portion comprises meansdefining openings for receiving the fan blades.
 37. A fan comprising: ahub portion comprising means defining an opening for receiving a fanblade; a fan blade connected to the hub portion and positioned in theopening; and a releasable engagement automatically securing the fanblade to the hub portion.
 38. The fan of claim 37, wherein the meansdefining an opening comprises a sleeve adapted to receive the fan blade.39. The fan of claim 38, comprising a slide angled to open thereleasable engagement as the fan blade is being positioned in thesleeve.
 40. The fan of claim 39, wherein the releasable engagement ismounted on the sleeve and comprises a pin adapted to interact with thefan blade.
 41. The fan of claim 40, wherein the fan blade comprises anaperture adapted to interact with the pin.
 42. The fan of claim 41,wherein the aperture conforms to the pin.
 43. The fan of claim 42,wherein both the aperture and the pin are non-circular.
 44. The fan ofclaim 37, wherein the fan blade comprises an aperture and the releasableengagement comprises a pin adapted to interact with the aperture of thefan blade.
 45. The fan of claim 44, wherein the pin comprises a slideangled to interact with the fan blade to open the releasable engagementas the fan blade is being properly positioned.
 46. The fan of claim 37,comprising a slide to open the releasable engagement as the fan blade isbeing inserted into position.
 47. The fan of claim 46, wherein thereleasable engagement comprises a spring biasing the releasableengagement to automatically close when the fan blade is properlypositioned, whereby the fan blade is secured to the hub portion.
 48. Thefan of claim 37, wherein the hub portion comprises a housing coveringthe releasable engagement.
 49. The fan of claim 48, wherein the housingcomprises an access vent to access the releasable engagement.
 50. Thefan of claim 48, wherein the hub portion comprises a motor body andwherein the housing comprises a stationary component and a rotatablecomponent; and wherein the rotatable component of the housing isconnected to the motor body.